James Tocchio
@jamestocchio.bsky.social
✏️Writer, video games, cameras & fiction
👋 https://www.clippings.me/users/jamestocchio
📝Editor at http://CasualPhotophile.com
📷Owner http://Fstopcameras.com
🧡Nerd at http://GGDreamcast.com
👋 https://www.clippings.me/users/jamestocchio
📝Editor at http://CasualPhotophile.com
📷Owner http://Fstopcameras.com
🧡Nerd at http://GGDreamcast.com
Pinned
James Tocchio
@jamestocchio.bsky.social
· Oct 22
Here's the newsstand edition of @retrogamermag.bsky.social which will be out on Thursday.
My big feature on Lumines and interview with Tetsuya Mizuguchi is in this one, alongside so many great articles. If you’ve not checked out Retro Gamer yet, this is a great time to start.
An excellent soundtrack from a beautiful and haunting game.
Mysterious. Cinematic. Unforgettable.
'𝘋2 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯' soundtracks an iconic 1999 Sega Dreamcast classic that solidified Kenji Eno's visionary reputation.
3 x remastered LPs & original cover illustration by Thinh Dinh. Serious craftsmanship for some serious sound.
'𝘋2 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯' soundtracks an iconic 1999 Sega Dreamcast classic that solidified Kenji Eno's visionary reputation.
3 x remastered LPs & original cover illustration by Thinh Dinh. Serious craftsmanship for some serious sound.
November 25, 2025 at 7:15 PM
An excellent soundtrack from a beautiful and haunting game.
Okay fine, I’ll rank the best Star Wars.
1) Shadows of the Empire N64
2) Shadows of the Empire the book
3) Rebel Assault 2 The Hidden Empire on a computer the color of a Nilla wafer
4) The Micro Machines Star Destroyer I got when I was seven
5) Tie Fighter on a blue Dell PC
6) Empire Strikes Back
1) Shadows of the Empire N64
2) Shadows of the Empire the book
3) Rebel Assault 2 The Hidden Empire on a computer the color of a Nilla wafer
4) The Micro Machines Star Destroyer I got when I was seven
5) Tie Fighter on a blue Dell PC
6) Empire Strikes Back
November 24, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Okay fine, I’ll rank the best Star Wars.
1) Shadows of the Empire N64
2) Shadows of the Empire the book
3) Rebel Assault 2 The Hidden Empire on a computer the color of a Nilla wafer
4) The Micro Machines Star Destroyer I got when I was seven
5) Tie Fighter on a blue Dell PC
6) Empire Strikes Back
1) Shadows of the Empire N64
2) Shadows of the Empire the book
3) Rebel Assault 2 The Hidden Empire on a computer the color of a Nilla wafer
4) The Micro Machines Star Destroyer I got when I was seven
5) Tie Fighter on a blue Dell PC
6) Empire Strikes Back
Still holding on to hope that my article and interview with Parappa the Rapper’s creator gets picked up @ rolling stone 🙏 wish me luck
November 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Still holding on to hope that my article and interview with Parappa the Rapper’s creator gets picked up @ rolling stone 🙏 wish me luck
Lots of super interesting people with the choicest culture for you in this.
We're not laughing out loud about this one. This month's issue of Unwinnable Monthly features @jamestocchio.bsky.social on L.O.L and Ryuichi Sakamoto, plus our regular crew on their areas of expertise.
Buy: buff.ly/QQmEgNJ
Subscribe: buff.ly/OFql2R4
Buy: buff.ly/QQmEgNJ
Subscribe: buff.ly/OFql2R4
November 21, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Lots of super interesting people with the choicest culture for you in this.
Somehow Unwinnable gave me the cover story. Great art, too!
Loss for words here, but please check out my article on Ryuichi Sakamoto and the call for peace and environmentalism found in the evolutionary life sim game, Lack of Love.
It’s in the latest Unwinnable.
unwinnable.com/2025/11/21/u...
Loss for words here, but please check out my article on Ryuichi Sakamoto and the call for peace and environmentalism found in the evolutionary life sim game, Lack of Love.
It’s in the latest Unwinnable.
unwinnable.com/2025/11/21/u...
Unwinnable Monthly – November 2025 - Unwinnable
The long dark season is upon us and we've one fewer light.
unwinnable.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Somehow Unwinnable gave me the cover story. Great art, too!
Loss for words here, but please check out my article on Ryuichi Sakamoto and the call for peace and environmentalism found in the evolutionary life sim game, Lack of Love.
It’s in the latest Unwinnable.
unwinnable.com/2025/11/21/u...
Loss for words here, but please check out my article on Ryuichi Sakamoto and the call for peace and environmentalism found in the evolutionary life sim game, Lack of Love.
It’s in the latest Unwinnable.
unwinnable.com/2025/11/21/u...
Rez was such a new experience when it debuted 24 years ago. And it’s still a totally unique thing today. Anyway, buy this then buy Rez.
11/22 is the 24th anniversary of Rez's release on the Sega #Dreamcast. Celebrate and make the Rez Hacker your Loomii in Lumines Arise. Available in the Digital Deluxe Edition (or via upgrade DLC).
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/2370000/Lumines_Arise
PS5: store.playstation.com/concept/10011885
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/2370000/Lumines_Arise
PS5: store.playstation.com/concept/10011885
November 21, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Rez was such a new experience when it debuted 24 years ago. And it’s still a totally unique thing today. Anyway, buy this then buy Rez.
Remembering being a little kid roaming around the town and the joy of finding and crunching down on two soda cans so they pinched my shoes to create little metal tap shoes, and how I’d stomp around abandoned factories and loading docks with my soda can shoes for hours.
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Remembering being a little kid roaming around the town and the joy of finding and crunching down on two soda cans so they pinched my shoes to create little metal tap shoes, and how I’d stomp around abandoned factories and loading docks with my soda can shoes for hours.
Another great game console cover! 😄 Happy to have contributed a feature on Mega Man X for this issue, and can’t wait to see what else is in these pages.
Retro Gamer 279 celebrates 20 years of the Xbox 360! The magazine also includes a 2026 Mario calendar.
Also inside: Stormbringer, Pipe Mania, Mega Man X, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Brian Shea, Terminator games and much more.
Grab it in shops or buy it online: www.magazinesdirect.com/uk/retro-gam...
Also inside: Stormbringer, Pipe Mania, Mega Man X, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Brian Shea, Terminator games and much more.
Grab it in shops or buy it online: www.magazinesdirect.com/uk/retro-gam...
November 20, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Another great game console cover! 😄 Happy to have contributed a feature on Mega Man X for this issue, and can’t wait to see what else is in these pages.
My beautiful game videos make my house look like it needs a fresh coat of paint. youtu.be/N5L9EZxREU8?...
November 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM
My beautiful game videos make my house look like it needs a fresh coat of paint. youtu.be/N5L9EZxREU8?...
I have pitched an article on the past and future of music games with interview commentary from the creator of PaRappa the Rapper to Rolling Stone. Wish us luck. This would be a joy to write.
November 19, 2025 at 3:35 PM
I have pitched an article on the past and future of music games with interview commentary from the creator of PaRappa the Rapper to Rolling Stone. Wish us luck. This would be a joy to write.
Grateful that another team of editors and creators are letting me write about an interest slice of gaming for an upcoming [unannounced] book. It's been so nice to discover that the people who make games and those who cover them as a meaningful part of culture are the nicest people I've ever met.
November 18, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Grateful that another team of editors and creators are letting me write about an interest slice of gaming for an upcoming [unannounced] book. It's been so nice to discover that the people who make games and those who cover them as a meaningful part of culture are the nicest people I've ever met.
I’ve been a Zelda fan since 1990, and loved every game, until Breath of the Wild. I could tell BotW was a great game, but felt like it was wasting my time. When the game asked me to go find places where photos were taken (or something?), I quit. I want to like open world Zelda. What should I do?
November 18, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I’ve been a Zelda fan since 1990, and loved every game, until Breath of the Wild. I could tell BotW was a great game, but felt like it was wasting my time. When the game asked me to go find places where photos were taken (or something?), I quit. I want to like open world Zelda. What should I do?
Any websites that specifically cover indie games currently looking for freelance writers to help with articles?
November 18, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Any websites that specifically cover indie games currently looking for freelance writers to help with articles?
The 3DO Doom port story has always been a favorite. I’m sad to see another lovely person taken by cancer. I won’t forget Rebecca.
My trailblazing game industry bad-ass friend Rebecca Heineman has passed away.
Fuck cancer.
Friends, let’s not forget her: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca...
Fuck cancer.
Friends, let’s not forget her: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca...
Rebecca Heineman - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM
The 3DO Doom port story has always been a favorite. I’m sad to see another lovely person taken by cancer. I won’t forget Rebecca.
That puzzle where you have to close the DS to make an imprint on the map on the lower screen changed my brain chemistry. This is the best Zelda game btw stop being a coward about touch controls.
November 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
That puzzle where you have to close the DS to make an imprint on the map on the lower screen changed my brain chemistry. This is the best Zelda game btw stop being a coward about touch controls.
I'm just so happy that the Lord of the Rings films came out when they did, before Marvel's success changed everything for the worse.
(Art by famed Tolkien artists Hildebrandt[s] and Howe, who among others helped establish the visual identity of the lore some 20-30 years before the films were made.)
(Art by famed Tolkien artists Hildebrandt[s] and Howe, who among others helped establish the visual identity of the lore some 20-30 years before the films were made.)
November 17, 2025 at 3:35 PM
I'm just so happy that the Lord of the Rings films came out when they did, before Marvel's success changed everything for the worse.
(Art by famed Tolkien artists Hildebrandt[s] and Howe, who among others helped establish the visual identity of the lore some 20-30 years before the films were made.)
(Art by famed Tolkien artists Hildebrandt[s] and Howe, who among others helped establish the visual identity of the lore some 20-30 years before the films were made.)
My dumb little videos look like real life on this tv.
November 16, 2025 at 4:05 AM
My dumb little videos look like real life on this tv.
My take on the Metroid NPC *controversy* is game enjoyers should be a little more open to enjoying games, instead of making sure everything fits neatly into their preconceived ideas of what game creators should be making. Also, Metroid games are terminally lonesome. I'm happy to have a pal.
Let me share a bit more about Myles MacKenzie, the notorious new Metroid Prime 4 sidekick
Just who is this guy?
Well, being a professional Metroid previewer, once I rescued Myles in Prime 4, I scanned him (this is how Samus greets everyone, even at parties)
His bio says he's "extremely talkative"
Just who is this guy?
Well, being a professional Metroid previewer, once I rescued Myles in Prime 4, I scanned him (this is how Samus greets everyone, even at parties)
His bio says he's "extremely talkative"
November 15, 2025 at 4:19 AM
My take on the Metroid NPC *controversy* is game enjoyers should be a little more open to enjoying games, instead of making sure everything fits neatly into their preconceived ideas of what game creators should be making. Also, Metroid games are terminally lonesome. I'm happy to have a pal.
mfw the editor says something nice 😭
November 14, 2025 at 7:02 PM
mfw the editor says something nice 😭
icymi i make videos to show off my favorite *lesser known* video game music. made another one. check out Sega Marine Fishing on the Dreamcast here youtu.be/_aH81K3qIrM
Sega Marine Fishing OST
YouTube video by GG Dreamcast
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 1:35 PM
icymi i make videos to show off my favorite *lesser known* video game music. made another one. check out Sega Marine Fishing on the Dreamcast here youtu.be/_aH81K3qIrM
I always squirm a bit with embarrassment when I speak certain truths, but the truth is the truth, and as weird as it sounds now, if SoA hadn’t appeared when I was 16 y/o, I don’t think I’d be here today. Those characters helped me believe things could get better. And they did!
Great article btw.
Great article btw.
Quintessential sky pirate adventure #SkiesofArcadia was out 25 years ago (2000)! With a fresh take on exploration and endearing cast; the title has been a cult hit with vocal fans (like us) since; and these pirates NEED a new port to dock at! 🏴☠️
Feature: www.rpgfan.com/feature/beyo...
Feature: www.rpgfan.com/feature/beyo...
November 14, 2025 at 5:46 AM
I always squirm a bit with embarrassment when I speak certain truths, but the truth is the truth, and as weird as it sounds now, if SoA hadn’t appeared when I was 16 y/o, I don’t think I’d be here today. Those characters helped me believe things could get better. And they did!
Great article btw.
Great article btw.
Well they messed up but I have a 3D printer so I can fix it.
November 13, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Well they messed up but I have a 3D printer so I can fix it.
Great stuff
This marks one year of my column. I really love writing it, and hopefully it saves my loved ones a few lectures.
ICYMI: "Still, the embodied complications of an accelerated puberty are more interesting, and more frightening to me, than the well-trodden sci-fi abstractions of what makes a human."
@nochshorn.bsky.social digs into the real fear of Alien: Earth:
@nochshorn.bsky.social digs into the real fear of Alien: Earth:
November 13, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Great stuff
Love that Unwinnable and its excellent contributors often point me to things I’d never otherwise see.
my first article for unwinnable is about @neal.fun 's i'm not a robot!
"The state of modern technology is overwhelmingly miserable, and I’m Not a Robot works so well because it laughs with you about it."
@beewertheimer.com plays I’m Not a Robot, a game that puts you through an absurd CAPTCHA gauntlet:
@beewertheimer.com plays I’m Not a Robot, a game that puts you through an absurd CAPTCHA gauntlet:
November 13, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Love that Unwinnable and its excellent contributors often point me to things I’d never otherwise see.